Seven legislators from across the political spectrum flew to the Dongsha Islands (東沙群島, known as the Pratas Islands in English) in the South China Sea yesterday as part of efforts to highlight Taiwan’s sovereignty amid growing tensions in the disputed area.
The trip came on the heels of a visit late last month by several other lawmakers to Taiping Island (太平島), the main island of the Spratley Islands in the simmering region, for a similar purpose.
The latest trip was led by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Mark Chen (陳唐山), a co-convener of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee.
The other members of the group were DPP legislators Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯), Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and Hsueh Ling (薛凌), as well as their Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) colleagues Chan Kai-chen (詹凱臣) and Chen Cheng-hsiang (陳鎮湘), and People First Party Legislator Chang Show-foong (張曉風).
Chang said prior to the group’s departure from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) that she was very pleased to join the group on the tour of the Dongsha Islands, which are located about 450km off Taiwan’s southwestern coast.
“This is my first trip to Dongsha and I hope to look into the ecological and fishery protection measures in place there,” Chang said.
Tsai said the Dongsha and Taiping islands are Taiwanese sovereign territory.
“As tensions in the South China Sea have been escalating recently, we want to reassert our country’s claim to the region through our visit,” Tsai said, adding that the group would also help boost the morale of military and coast guard personnel stationed on the islands.
The South China Sea is seen as a flashpoint because Taiwan, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei claim all or part of the 3.5 million square kilometer area, which includes the Spratly, Paracel and Pratas islands, the Macclesfield Bank and the Scarborough Shoal.
A standoff between armed Chinese and Philippine vessels has continued since April 10 near the Scarborough Shoal, known as Huangyan Island (黃岩島) in Taiwan, over conflicting sovereignty claims.
Taiwan occupies Dongsha, the largest island in the South China Sea, as well as Taiping Island, the largest island in the Spratlys.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
UNPRECEDENTED: In addition to the approved recall motions, cases such as Ma Wen-chun’s in Nantou are still under review, while others lack enough signatures The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced yesterday that a recall vote would take place on July 26, after it approved the first batch of recall motions targeting 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安). Taiwan is in the midst of an unprecedented wave of mass recall campaigns, following a civil society push that echoed a call made by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in January to initiate signature drives aimed at unseating KMT legislators. Under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), Taiwanese can initiate a recall of district-elected lawmakers by collecting